Gabon goes to presidential elections on April 12 in an attempt to end military rule Politics News

Interim leader Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a military coup in August 2023, is set to run for president.

Gabon’s Council of Ministers has announced that presidential elections will be held on April 12, ending military rule that began coup d’état 2023.

The minutes from the cabinet meeting confirmed the scheduling of the presidential elections.

“According to the provisions of this decree, the electoral college was convened for Saturday, April 12, 2025,” reads the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday evening.

Gabon’s interim president Brice Oligui Nguema took power in a coup, the eighth in West and Central Africa between 2020 and 2023, ending the long-standing rule of his predecessor Ali Bong and his family over the oil-rich but impoverished nation.

In November Gabon voted yes in a referendum on a new constitutionfulfilling the promise of the leaders of the military coup to take steps towards the restoration of constitutional rule.

The new constitution foresees a maximum of two seven-year presidential terms, without a prime minister and without a dynastic transfer of power.

However, some observers fear that the ruling military government could use the process to stay in power.

On Monday, a new law allowed military officials to run in elections, under certain conditions.

This means that Nguema, a transition leader who has made no secret of his ambitions to be elected president, gets an exception in the candidacy.

The oil-rich Central African country was ruled by the Bongo family for 55 years until a coup in August 2023.

But Bongo ruled for 14 years until he was ousted moments after he was declared the winner of a presidential election that the military and opposition declared fraudulent.

He took over after the death of his father Omar, who had ruled for more than 41 years.

The opposition and coup leaders have accused Bongo’s regime of widespread corruption and mismanagement.